The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 37 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 1 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Black women start U.S. businesses fastest but receive disproportionately low venture funding
“The reality is, guy, black women are starting businesses faster than any other group of people in this country, but we're not getting funding, and also, because we're not getting funding, we can't really grow our ideas, so if we really wanna, like, reduce the …”
Butler: Black women launch businesses fastest in US but lack funding
“Black women are starting businesses faster than any other group of people in this country, but we're not getting funding, and also, because we're not getting funding, we can't really grow our ideas, so if we really wanna, like, reduce the wealth gap in this co…”
Butler: Black professionals in corporate America are rarely treated as individuals
“And this is oftentimes the plight of a black person working in corporate America. You're never able to be an individual. Like, so every day, I had to answer for the entire black race, and it was exhausting.”
Consumers should buy Black-owned products for quality, not out of charitable obligation
“And that's the thing, like we don't, as a black business owner, I don't want you to support my business. I want you to shop my product because you think that this is great. Exactly. Because we make it easy for you to understand what products work for your comp…”
Butler: Black professionals in corporate America are rarely allowed individuality
“I was constantly, like, asked about either my hair or my clothes or if something happened in the media with a black person, and this is oftentimes the plight of a black person working in corporate America. You're never able to be an individual.”
Major cosmetic brands held a monopoly on U.S. lipstick molds in 2012
“So, most companies, like the huge companies, the L'Oreal's of the world, they pretty much had a monopoly on the molds market. So there was, from my understanding, and this is in 2012, there were only a couple of suppliers in the U.S. Who made molds, and the bi…”
The Lip Bar was designed with Black women as the default consumer
“I think the goal was to create a brand where black women could be the default brand. So we create products, like you said, for every single skin tone. But when we first launched in 2012, I was just like, I don't want black and brown women to feel like they hav…”
First-time founders uniquely benefit from a naive belief that everything will work
“I think one of the like magical things about being a first time founder, especially in an industry that you don't know anything about, you're completely naive and you think that everything is going to work.”
Retailers will not sell your product; founders must drive their own sales
“So the thing about launching in a retailer is it's not their job to sell your product. It's your job to sell your product.”
Black consumers reportedly spend nine times more on beauty products than anyone else
“It's been reported that we spend nine times
Anyone else on beauty.”
Butler: Major beauty giants monopolized US lipstick mold manufacturing in 2012
“Most companies, like the huge companies, the L'Oreal's of the world, they pretty much had a monopoly on the molds market. So there was, from my understanding, and this is in 2012, there were only a couple of suppliers in the U.S. Who made molds, and the bigges…”
Butler: The Lip Bar was founded to make Black women the default
“Yeah, I think the goal was to create a brand where black women could be the default. So, we create products, like you said, for every single skin tone. Like, it literally doesn't matter what complexion you are, we have something for you, but when we first laun…”
Butler: First-time founders benefit from naive belief that everything works
“I think one of the, like, magical things about being a first-time founder, especially in an industry that you don't know anything about, you're completely naive, and you think that everything is gonna work.”
Butler: Returned to Detroit to ensure Black inclusion in city's resurgence
“I knew that New York didn't need me and that I could do a lot more in my hometown. You know, I never thought that Detroit really Deserved the bad reputation that it had gotten, and I wanted to be a part of, like, this new thing, and to meet the movers and shak…”
Butler: Small cosmetics brands outpace legacy giants by changing faster
“So I'm explaining to them that, that the industry
is changing, and that the bigger companies are slow to change, and we're this smaller company, and we're fast to change, and that's our strength.”
Butler: Keeping founders hidden hurts modern consumer brands seeking transparency
“And so over time, I did realize that that was
It's hurting the company with me not being at the forefront, because today, people are looking for brands that are going to be more transparent, and they want to know who's behind the business.”
Butler: Retailers will not sell your product for you
“So the thing about launching in a retailer is it's not their job to sell your product. It's your job to sell your product.”
Butler: Small beauty brands sell because marketing spend beats creativity at scale
“And what you see within the beauty space is, like, typically small businesses end up selling because there's a constant need for money and to out-compete these bigger brands. And the reality is, like, I can't out-market Maybelline in dollars. You know, I can b…”
The Lip Bar officially launched with approximately $30,000 in startup costs
“So the startup cost for the business was probably around 30,000 dollars.”
A Shark Tank appearance drove 40,000 hits in minutes, crashing the website
“Oh, our website crashed that night. I want to say we had, like, 40,000 hits to the website within just a couple of minutes.”
The Lip Bar had Target's top-selling lipstick at launch with zero marketing
“And we had like the number one selling lipstick
For the first month of our launch with no marketing budget, and Target was like, whoa, we weren't expecting this of this brand, and so we grew very quickly.”
The Lip Bar grew five-fold after Melissa Butler moved operations to Detroit
“Like, the lip bar has grown, Since we've come back, like, we five-x'd the business since I've moved back to Detroit.”
Michelle Obama famously wore The Lip Bar's bestselling red lipstick
“Like, Michelle Obama just wore our red, which is our bestseller in the whole company.”
Butler: A supplier's question about pigments sparked the pivot to lipstick
“And he's like, wait, slow down, do you want lip gloss pigments or do you want soap pigments? And I was like lipstick. I knew nothing about lipstick, but I couldn't believe that I could buy lipstick pigments and that was it for me.”
Butler: The Lip Bar grew sales from $26,000 to around $56,000 in year two
“You know, if the first year we made 26,000, then I think the next year we may have made, like, 56,000, which is great.”
Butler: Mobilizing Delta Sigma Theta network was key driver of Lip Bar's growth
“So by leaning on them and making sure that they were super aware of what I was doing, I was also baking in a business model, essentially. And I think that's part of the reason why the Lit Bar has been able to grow, because It's just been this strong community …”
Butler: The Lip Bar had Target's top-selling lipstick in month one
“We had like the number one selling lipstick for the first month of our launch with no marketing budget, and Target was like, whoa, we weren't expecting this of this brand, and so we grew very quickly.”
Butler: The Lip Bar grew 5x after returning to Detroit
“Like the lip bar has grown since we've come back. Like we five X the business since I've moved back. To Detroit.”
Butler: The Lip Bar grew 80% in 2020 despite pandemic disruptions
“So throughout this pandemic, even though it is uncertain still we've been able to grow the business 80% this year.”
Butler predicts The Lip Bar will reach $25 million in annual sales
“Oh yeah, totally. We'll, we'll get there. No, no doubt about that.”
Butler initially planned to launch a Lush-inspired venture called The Soap Bar
“In, in my soap making, I was like, I want to be Lush, and I think that's what made me say, like, I want to start a soap business, actually, because I was obsessed. Like, this is it. I, this is my way out. I'm gonna create a company, it's gonna be called The So…”
All lipsticks fundamentally share just three core ingredients: wax, oil, and pigment
“Like, all lipstick is basically the same. It has its same, like, core ingredients. All of it has a wax, all of it has an oil, and all of it has a pigment.”
The Lip Bar generated approximately $26,000 in revenue during its first year
“Our first year in business, we launched in 2012. I think we made 26,000 dollars, right?”
The founder of successful cosmetics brand The Lip Bar cannot apply makeup
“Yes, I'm a beauty founder, but no, I don't know how to do makeup.”
Butler accumulated roughly $50,000 in student loan debt during college
“I had racked up, like, 50,000 dollars.”
Butler: The Lip Bar cost roughly $30,000 to start
“So I think buying the units, and then actually getting them to my Brooklyn apartment may have cost me 13,000 dollars. And then on top of that, I have to buy all the ingredients. I'm planning a launch party. I have to have pictures taken. So the startup cost fo…”
Butler: The Lip Bar launched with an unpaid six-person team
“Roscoe, who's our creative director, she moved to New York, like, she moved to New York three weeks before we launched, and, you know, some of my other friends in finance, I'm like, can you do our sales, can you do our branding, can you do, like, I had a team …”